Hello,
Welcome to 100% Breath.
My name is Michael and I appreciate you practicing this short meditation with me.
I wanted to start our meditation with a poem and the first time I heard this poem it really resonated with me and I really hope you enjoy it.
So,
Find a comfortable position either sitting tall with a long spine or lying down.
Take a deep inhale and let it all go.
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable soul.
In the foul clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance my head is bloody but unbound.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears looms but the horror of the shade.
And yet the menace of the years finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how straight the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate.
I am the captain of my soul.
Invictus,
William Ernest Henley.
The world has taken flight like never before.
Sometimes it can feel like we're in the passenger seat of a moving train,
Watching as blurred orange and red lights stream past,
Blending into a perfect constant.
Sounds culminate from the rush of the world we live.
We travel to places we once never needed to be.
A landscape carved from influence of what matters,
Etched only for us to breathe in questions before that very earth is wiped clean and disturbed yet again by others.
And it's in these moments we're offered an opportunity to see things just as they are,
Just as they were,
With deep gratitude for what has been and what has become,
Without worry that may distort the way in which we look at the world as it moves swiftly through and around us.
It offers us refuge,
A comforting place of shelter when cold winter-like storms settle in.
It offers safety and simplicity where no man or woman bears burden to be measured or be led through clouded paths of fear or judgment,
Where the sounds of a ticking clock may be heard but no time passes.
The present moment.
Notice your breath,
Allow yourself to breathe from your stomach,
Relax your shoulders,
Relax the muscles in your face and exhale any tensions and thoughts that serve you no purpose and awaken all of your senses in this life.
And let us descend from a place of influence and guard to discover your deepest self,
Who you truly are,
And the courage to sit quietly and listen.
I'm going to go quiet here for just a few moments to allow you this space and time,
But just know that I'm here and when it's time I'll come back and get you.
It's in this silence we find out who we really are.
We shed the outer layer of our being,
Take off the mask and rebirth what has been with you all along my friend.
The courage that lies dormant within us in the pit of your stomach and the notch in your throat,
Waiting to be called upon at any given moment.
And if you sit long enough and quiet enough you'll find the answers you're looking for.
It may not be what you imagined but therein lies the courage within you to seek with optimism and explore with open mind and heart,
Knowing no boundaries and ready to discover what can't be seen until you allow yourself to slow down and rest your mind.
It's time to forge past the narratives that hold you back,
The stories you've come to believe and plant the seeds to sow what and who you were meant to be.
It's easy to find ourselves overshadowed by fear of what might be or shadows of what if,
But as we maneuver through adversity and times that challenge us the most,
This poem reminds us that you are able my friend,
That you can live your life on purpose,
That you are the master of your fate,
That you are the captain of your soul.
Thank you for practicing with me today.
Be well my friend.
